On This Day... 21st July

In 2011 Torchwood action moved Stateside with an episode entitled Rendition - the second instalment of Torchwood: Miracle Day. This was a co-production with the American Starz company after all.

Today we remember Deborah Watling, who played Victoria Waterfield - companion to the Second Doctor. She passed away on this date in 2017, aged 69. She appeared in The Evil of the Daleks to Fury from the Deep, but reprised the role in the unofficial spin-off video Downtime, and in the Children in Need fiasco Dimensions in Time. She had been due to appear in The Five Doctors, but pulled out when offered work with comedian Dave Allen. Unfortunately this got cancelled too late to reinstate her, so she missed out for nothing.

Watling unsuccessfully auditioned for the role of Polly prior to getting that of Victoria, but the latter was actually offered to someone else first - Denise Upson. Rumour has it that the producer overruled the director's casting to get Watling onto the series - her family being old friends of his.

Her career was spent mostly in the theatre. Her only other regular TV role was was in Danger: UXB, about a WWII bomb disposal team.

Two of her movies involved pop stars, and show up on the Talking Pictures Channel on a regular basis - Take Me High, with Cliff Richard, and That'll Be The Day, with David Essex and Ringo Starr. They also show HG Wells' Invisible Man - a 1950's series in which she frequently appeared.

One of Watling's many lost stories is soon to be released in animated form - though Lord knows when they'll finally get round to releasing it. The Abominable Snowmen featured Wolfe Morris as the ancient lama Padmasambhava. He died on this date in 1996, aged 71.

Another Troughton guest artist was Kenneth Watson, who played Australian crew member Bill Duggan in The Wheel in Space. He also portrayed Craddock in the second Peter Cushing Dalek movie - Daleks: Invasion Earth - 2150AD. He died in 1998, aged 66.

Finally, a few birthdays of note. John Woodvine - the Marshal of Atrios - is 93 today.

Vilma Hollingbery, who played Mrs Hardcourt, the lady who is surprised to see that her missing leg has grown back in The Doctor Dances, is 90. Zawe Ashton, who played Journey Blue in Into the Dalek, is 38.